Public Act 101-0201
 
SB1133 EnrolledLRB101 06092 JRG 51113 b

    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Acupuncture Practice Act is amended by
changing Section 110 and by adding Section 16 as follows:
 
    (225 ILCS 2/16 new)
    Sec. 16. Chinese herbology; practice. No person licensed
under this Act may hold himself or herself out as being trained
in Chinese herbology without proof of status as a Diplomate of
Oriental Medicine certified by the National Certification
Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine or a
substantially equivalent status that is approved by the
Department or proof that he or she has successfully completed
the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and
Oriental Medicine Chinese Herbology Examination or a
substantially equivalent examination approved by the
Department. A violation of this Section is subject to the
disciplinary action described in Section 110.
 
    (225 ILCS 2/110)
    (Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2028)
    Sec. 110. Grounds for disciplinary action.
    (a) The Department may refuse to issue or to renew, place
on probation, suspend, revoke or take other disciplinary or
non-disciplinary action as deemed appropriate including the
imposition of fines not to exceed $10,000 for each violation,
as the Department may deem proper, with regard to a license for
any one or combination of the following causes:
        (1) Violations of this Act or its rules.
        (2) Conviction by plea of guilty or nolo contendere,
    finding of guilt, jury verdict, or entry of judgment or
    sentencing, including, but not limited to, convictions,
    preceding sentences of supervision, conditional discharge,
    or first offender probation, under the laws of any
    jurisdiction of the United States that is (i) a felony or
    (ii) a misdemeanor, an essential element of which is
    dishonesty or that is directly related to the practice of
    the profession.
        (3) Making any misrepresentation for the purpose of
    obtaining a license.
        (4) Aiding or assisting another person in violating any
    provision of this Act or its rules.
        (5) Failing to provide information within 60 days in
    response to a written request made by the Department which
    has been sent by certified or registered mail to the
    licensee's address of record or by email to the licensee's
    email address of record.
        (6) Discipline by another U.S. jurisdiction or foreign
    nation, if at least one of the grounds for the discipline
    is the same or substantially equivalent to one set forth in
    this Section.
        (7) Solicitation of professional services by means
    other than permitted under this Act.
        (8) Failure to provide a patient with a copy of his or
    her record upon the written request of the patient.
        (9) Gross negligence in the practice of acupuncture.
        (10) Habitual or excessive use or addiction to alcohol,
    narcotics, stimulants, or any other chemical agent or drug
    that results in an acupuncturist's inability to practice
    with reasonable judgment, skill, or safety.
        (11) A finding that licensure has been applied for or
    obtained by fraudulent means.
        (12) A pattern of practice or other behavior that
    demonstrates incapacity or incompetence to practice under
    this Act.
        (13) Being named as a perpetrator in an indicated
    report by the Department of Children and Family Services
    under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act and upon
    proof by clear and convincing evidence that the licensee
    has caused a child to be an abused child or a neglected
    child as defined in the Abused and Neglected Child
    Reporting Act.
        (14) Willfully failing to report an instance of
    suspected child abuse or neglect as required by the Abused
    and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
        (15) The use of any words, abbreviations, figures or
    letters (such as "Acupuncturist", "Licensed
    Acupuncturist", "Certified Acupuncturist", "Doctor of
    Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine", "Doctor of Acupuncture
    and Oriental Medicine", "Doctor of Acupuncture", "Oriental
    Medicine Practitioner", "Licensed Oriental Medicine
    Practitioner", "Oriental Medicine Doctor", "Licensed
    Oriental Medicine Doctor", "C.A.", "Act.", "Lic. Act.",
    "Lic. Ac.", "D.Ac.", "DACM", "DAOM", or "O.M.D.") or any
    designation used by the Accreditation Commission for
    Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine with the intention of
    indicating practice as a licensed acupuncturist without a
    valid license as an acupuncturist issued under this Act.
        When the name of the licensed acupuncturist is used
    professionally in oral, written, or printed announcements,
    professional cards, or publications for the information of
    the public, the degree title or degree abbreviation shall
    be added immediately following title and name. When the
    announcement, professional card, or publication is in
    writing or in print, the explanatory addition shall be in
    writing, type, or print not less than 1/2 the size of that
    used in the name and title. No person other than the holder
    of a valid existing license under this Act shall use the
    title and designation of "acupuncturist", either directly
    or indirectly, in connection with his or her profession or
    business.
        (16) Using claims of superior quality of care to entice
    the public or advertising fee comparisons of available
    services with those of other persons providing acupuncture
    services.
        (17) Advertising of professional services that the
    offeror of the services is not licensed to render.
    Advertising of professional services that contains false,
    fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading material or
    guarantees of success, statements that play upon the vanity
    or fears of the public, or statements that promote or
    produce unfair competition.
        (18) Having treated ailments other than by the practice
    of acupuncture as defined in this Act, or having treated
    ailments of as a licensed acupuncturist pursuant to a
    referral by written order that provides for management of
    the patient by a physician or dentist without having
    notified the physician or dentist who established the
    diagnosis that the patient is receiving acupuncture
    treatments.
        (19) Unethical, unauthorized, or unprofessional
    conduct as defined by rule.
        (20) Physical illness, mental illness, or other
    impairment that results in the inability to practice the
    profession with reasonable judgment, skill, and safety,
    including, without limitation, deterioration through the
    aging process, mental illness, or disability.
        (21) Violation of the Health Care Worker Self-Referral
    Act.
        (22) Failure to refer a patient whose condition should,
    at the time of evaluation or treatment, be determined to be
    beyond the scope of practice of the acupuncturist to a
    licensed physician or dentist.
        (23) Holding himself or herself out as being trained in
    Chinese herbology without being able to provide the
    Department with proof of status as a Diplomate of Oriental
    Medicine certified by the National Certification
    Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine or a
    substantially equivalent status approved by the Department
    or proof that he or she has successfully completed the
    National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and
    Oriental Medicine Chinese Herbology Examination or a
    substantially equivalent examination approved by the
    Department.
    The entry of an order by a circuit court establishing that
any person holding a license under this Act is subject to
involuntary admission or judicial admission as provided for in
the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code operates
as an automatic suspension of that license. That person may
have his or her license restored only upon the determination by
a circuit court that the patient is no longer subject to
involuntary admission or judicial admission and the issuance of
an order so finding and discharging the patient and upon the
Board's recommendation to the Department that the license be
restored. Where the circumstances so indicate, the Board may
recommend to the Department that it require an examination
prior to restoring a suspended license.
    The Department may refuse to issue or renew the license of
any person who fails to (i) file a return or to pay the tax,
penalty or interest shown in a filed return or (ii) pay any
final assessment of the tax, penalty, or interest as required
by any tax Act administered by the Illinois Department of
Revenue, until the time that the requirements of that tax Act
are satisfied.
    In enforcing this Section, the Department upon a showing of
a possible violation may compel an individual licensed to
practice under this Act, or who has applied for licensure under
this Act, to submit to a mental or physical examination, or
both, as required by and at the expense of the Department. The
Department may order the examining physician to present
testimony concerning the mental or physical examination of the
licensee or applicant. No information shall be excluded by
reason of any common law or statutory privilege relating to
communications between the licensee or applicant and the
examining physician. The examining physicians shall be
specifically designated by the Department. The individual to be
examined may have, at his or her own expense, another physician
of his or her choice present during all aspects of this
examination. Failure of an individual to submit to a mental or
physical examination, when directed, shall be grounds for
suspension of his or her license until the individual submits
to the examination if the Department finds, after notice and
hearing, that the refusal to submit to the examination was
without reasonable cause.
    If the Department finds an individual unable to practice
because of the reasons set forth in this Section, the
Department may require that individual to submit to care,
counseling, or treatment by physicians approved or designated
by the Department, as a condition, term, or restriction for
continued, restored, or renewed licensure to practice; or, in
lieu of care, counseling, or treatment, the Department may file
a complaint to immediately suspend, revoke, or otherwise
discipline the license of the individual. An individual whose
license was granted, continued, restored, renewed, disciplined
or supervised subject to such terms, conditions, or
restrictions, and who fails to comply with such terms,
conditions, or restrictions, shall be referred to the Secretary
for a determination as to whether the individual shall have his
or her license suspended immediately, pending a hearing by the
Department.
    In instances in which the Secretary immediately suspends a
person's license under this Section, a hearing on that person's
license must be convened by the Department within 30 days after
the suspension and completed without appreciable delay. The
Department and Board shall have the authority to review the
subject individual's record of treatment and counseling
regarding the impairment to the extent permitted by applicable
federal statutes and regulations safeguarding the
confidentiality of medical records.
    An individual licensed under this Act and affected under
this Section shall be afforded an opportunity to demonstrate to
the Department that he or she can resume practice in compliance
with acceptable and prevailing standards under the provisions
of his or her license.
(Source: P.A. 100-375, eff. 8-25-17.)